47 Meters Down (2017) User Reviews (508)

It's Exactly What You Expect

[Jared_Andrews · 5/10 · 27 June 2017]

Before we sit down in the theater, we know pretty much exactly what happens. Two girls go scuba diving in a shark cage and wind up a trapped in said cage 47 meters below the surface. Since they aren't experts, we know how they will react. Then sharks show up. Since they are sharks in a scary movie, we know how they will react. There is no real room for surprises.

If you expect rampant plot twists and character development, you must not see this type of movie often. It is what it is and it knows that. Despite the only real mystery being which of the girls survives, if any, or perhaps both, the movie actually manages to provide a refreshing twist.

That may sound bold to say when talking about a powerfully simple shark attack movie, but take some time to think about it. The twist is secretly ingenious and explains away many of the ghastly errors in believability.

I'm surprised to find myself defending a movie that I didn't really like all that much. But I am. It's not that movie doesn't deserve criticism. It certainly does. The acting performances earn failing grades across the board. The dialogue is laced with embarrassing over explanations and repeated lines, most of which involve warnings from the captain about the bends. Other times this takes the form of the girls obnoxiously narrating the menial tasks as they carry them out. Once or twice might have been fine, but it's tough to stomach after about the 10th time or so.

My thought on this is maybe the filmmakers knew that it was too dark to see what was going on for most of the movie, so they made the girls say aloud everything that they did. This solution makes about as much sense as going on a five-mile run after knowingly drinking spoiled milk. If one problem is easily avoidable, avoid the problem. Don't attempt a remedy that almost certainly won't help the situation.

All that said, I defend the movie because I think it executes its mission reasonably well. I shifted to the edge of my seat and felt uneasy on many occasions. The movie managed to scare the audience and it did so with fewer jump scares than expected.

Instead, the movie built to moments that would normally climax with the infamous jump scare then simply opted not to deliver one. The goal is still achieved. The moments still induce a sense of dread from the audience, but without the cheapness of frightening viewers by essentially saying "boo." I'd like to see other movies emulate this tactic.

My advice: if you are going to watch this movie, understand what you are getting into. The movie likely won't surprise and that wasn't its intention. Be reasonable with your expectations. Accept the movie's strengths and weaknesses. Empathize with how terrifying the situation would be if it were you stuck in the shark cage on the ocean floor, and don't hesitate to laugh at the movie's weaknesses.

Do those two things, and you may walk away satisfied. If you are unwilling to do that, stay out of the water.

Everybody knows shark attack movies aren't realistic, so calm down.

[donttouchmeprimate · 6/10 · 10 February 2019]

Had a flick through the comments here and I saw a bunch of 1's from people complaining about coast guard tactics, ocean safety and even "shark behaviour". IT'S A MONSTER SURVIVAL MOVIE! Just calm down and watch it for what it is. Lame and uninteresting characters, a boat, ocean, sharks. Followed by cheap jump scares.

Sure, it's nothing new, but it holds its own.

But hey, what do I know, when I was young, my brother and I stood on a beach in Wales screaming at a dead crab for a good 5 minutes.

as an 'experienced diver' ... I quite liked it!

[vailsy · 6/10 · 26 June 2018]

Most 'experienced divers' reviewing the movie here, who want to share their diving knowledge and tell us about the technical holes in the plot, are missing a huge detail.. the ending. It reveals BIG SPOILER that most of the movie is the hallucination of one of the girls while she is trapped at the bottom in the cage suffering from nitrogen narcosis, the other girl disappears quite quickly so all the ascents etc don't happen. So we can forget our dive tables and decompression times, and it becomes a little bit easier to suspend our disbelief for the tank swapping next to, for example Jaws, where a shark propels itself fully out of the water and sinks a large boat

There are actually a number of things the movie gets right.. the general feel of being underwater at depth with low visibility.. the lighting and camera angles are very suspenseful and really give the right sense of disorientation and claustrophobia. Sometimes the camera seems to take a shark eye view, approaching and then deciding not to attack, at other times large dark spaces are left behind the main character just waiting to be filled with a large tooth filled shark mouth

We don't see the shark clearly or often either , which is a good thing.. the best parts of Jaws were when we didn't see the shark much, and Shallow Water which i saw recently was filled with cgi shark and wasn't scary at all. In contrast I was really kept on the edge of my seat with this movie and i am terrified of sharks and dive so i know what the feeling is like from personal experience of being slightly uneasy underwater

My only complaint is that there is a little too much chatter

Better than expected and recommended, nowhere near Jaws obviously but better than most other shark movies

ONE YEAR LATER AND I STILL ENJOY THIS MOVIE

[brunoproductions · 6/10 · 9 June 2018]

I actually caught this in the theater and again a year later at home. Reviews are mixed with this film, but I actually enjoyed this movie. Mandy Moore's acting is always a breath of fresh air and Claire Holt didn't have trouble carrying the film along. Yes it's a shark movie, but what makes this flick a stand out, is the fact the sharks aren't the only threat to the girls survival. It got a few jumps and a sudden episode of claustrophobia from me. Which I guess is a good thing. Moore's freaky smile in the end makes one lasting impression but one burning question though for me is... WHERE THE HELL DID THE SHARKS DISAPPEAR TO IN THE FINAL RESCUE SCENE ?!?

Pretty solid!

[theshadowrunner · 7/10 · 29 July 2016]

For a scary shark flick I found it totally worked. Of course the intro, party scene & boys are what you'd expect for this genre, and had me wondering if I'd make it to the end due to all the cliché.

But it did take off from there nicely, had some genuine holy f*ck moments, a good pacing and had me wondering all the way if the girls would make it to the end...

The camera work was great and the sharks well done (a bit too aggressive for total realism, but hey). The ending was also original, for once!

Compared to The Shallows, I'd say it's equally solid in terms of entertainment value and getting the viewer hooked until the end.

Overall a solid 7 in my book.

Missed opportunity

[masonsaul · 3/10 · 16 February 2020]

47 Meters Down has a simple but extremely effective premise that ultimately is a missed opportunity. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt give good performances and it gets straight to the cage diving. However, its brought down by its boring pace and being almost entirely reliant on jump scares which aren't scary. It's also brought down by a terrible twist ending.

A cage dive you'd not want to be in.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 3 March 2018]

How often do you watch a film from this genre and are made to watch 90 minutes of bad acting, unrealistic sharks, poor camerawork etc, my expectations weren't too high, and I for one was pleasantly surprised. This film is actually really well made, it's very solid, it's well acted, and it manages to generate both terror and claustrophobia, in a way I wasn't expecting. That ending also, talk about out of the Blue ;-) Beautifully filmed, superb location work, sharks that although maybe a little out of character to say the least certainly looked good, and of course added to the terror.

Pleasantly surprised. 7/10

Should have stayed direct to video

[dar0417 · 2/10 · 13 February 2020]

So bad. What else could go wrong in the water? Well everything did and then some.

Beautifully done!

[Patient444 · 7/10 · 9 August 2016]

I had a great time with this one! It really succeeded where few monster movies manage to. It provided tension, scary moments and it did made me hold my breath!

Beside this year's The Shallows, we got In The Deep, which is a beautifully shot movie, good acting, nice reactions, pretty much the whole nine yards here. It was a great little movie, I'm just sad it didn't get the attention it should have. People need to know that this is not another low budget shark movie, but a damn good one!

Watch it and you will not regret. It provides a great, great atmosphere and surely enough, most of you will enjoy it.

Cheers!

Here we go again...

[aidanratesmovies · 3/10 · 28 February 2021]

Although it can have a handful of somewhat intense moments, 47 Meters Down sadly proves to be nothing but another generic shark movie, and to be frank, a rather pathetic attempt at that. I'll start with the films strengths, that being why most of the people will watch the film, for the suspense. I feel all the suspenseful moments in the film come from the situations under water, and not at all the danger of the sharks themselves. The sharks throughout the film are almost comically thrown in there, so much to the point, that I laughed whenever they came on screen. I enjoyed the claustrophobic nature it had been trapped in the cage under water, not knowing what to do or where to go, but our lead characters are too stupid to truly be concerned for, and the lead actresses hardly capable of carrying the film to the lengths it needs them too. The acting is quite bad, incredibly overdramatic, silly at times, and the dialogue is atrocious. Besides the sharks literally being a joke upon the screen, the worst part of the film is hands down the twist ending, which is not only frustrating, but absolutely ridiculous, and completely unnecessary. The film is unbelievable, dull at times, and simply too stupid to handle the fear of its somewhat interesting premise. In the end, 47 Meters Down is probably left better at the bottom of the ocean, than it was in major theaters across the globe. My Rating: 3.5/10

Solid, entertaining movie keeps you entertained until the very end, and IGNORE the dive experts please

[mitchel1986 · 8/10 · 4 June 2017]

OK, so this movie was quite nice! I saw it at a sneak preview, had no expectations and was surprised in a positive way. Its no Oscar-winner, the constant moaning of the girls kinda irritated me a few times but overall...scary, but not in an 'average shark movie' way, some nice twist and just fun!

So why this kinda dull review? Well, I read a lot of reviews on IMDb, never feel the urge to write one. But there is something with IMDb reviews which bothers the hell out of me. Allow me:

There is this guy here (he must be so much fun at parties), who wrote a review presenting 14 reasons or so, why the diving in this movie was impossible/not logical/not realistic or whatever. Therefore, the movie received one star. This bothers me. Why? Allow me again:

So, I do not dive, but I teach at University. Not really movie material, but let's say a movie is made about the life of a University teacher (why would you do that you ask? good question). Let's say in this movie, ALL details about the very complex and technical nature of ' University teacher' are impossible/not logical/not realistic. But, the movie is fun and entertaining. Why, oh why in Gods name, would I feel the urge to write a review to correct all these 'mistakes' related to something I happen to be an expert in?

In other words, why do so many reviewers here feel this urge to correct the impossible/not logical/not realistic with regard to something they happen to know a lot of? Just enjoy the movie (or not, if its s*cky), but over-analyzing it from your 'expert view'? To be honest, most of us don't really care about that and just want to enjoy the movie...

Watch two incredibly stupid girls plunge into shark infested waters

[Aaron1375 · 6/10 · 10 February 2018]

Me and my fiance decided to watch this film as we had watched Jaws 3 the night before. Thought it would be interesting and it was entertaining as it was one of those movies you talk over as the characters in the film proceed to not use their minds at all and make poor decision after poor decision! I am betting this film was originally going to be a direct to DVD type film, but they ended up releasing it in theaters and considering it cost only about six million to make and went on to gross 44 million I would say they made a good decision. I am glad I did not see this in theaters and rather just watched it on Netflix as it was okay to some degree, but I could not have made fun of it in the theater like I did in my fiance's living room. The movie just begs a person to yell criticisms at the two main characters!

The story has two sisters who are in Mexico living it up. Apparently, one of the sister's recently had her boyfriend break up with her so the other sister gets her to go out and party! They meet two guys who get the girls to sign up to go on a boat that looks like crap, then go into a rusty shark cage and then plunge into the waters that are filled with great whites as the idiots on the boat throw chum into the water thus sending the sharks into a feeding frenzy. What could go wrong? Well, pretty much everything as the rusty, rickety wench that holds the cage breaks, go figure, plunging the girls 47 meters down. Hey, that's the title! They are running low on oxygen and the only help they have is the captain and his crew who at least stayed and tried to help them out and just didn't pack up and forget about them. Unfortunately, the girls keep insisting on leaving the safety of the cage. I can understand it the first time, and when they needed the oxygen tank, but not when they saw the flashlight in the water. They not only have to contend with sharks, the possibility of getting the bends but poor judgement by everyone!

As I said, this film was not bad, but certainly nothing great either. It passed the time nicely as it is a rather absurd movie. For one thing, sharks generally do not try to break through shark cages and rarely go for humans to chomp on unless said person is on a surfboard because then the shark mistakes them for a seal. Here it was ridiculous how determined the sharks are to get at people! Then the whole premise is idiotic as it is clear the captain recognizes the one girl was not experienced and considering how he actually did try to help them he I am betting he would have nixed the whole thing seeing how she was behaving on deck. The ending was a bit predictable too as the captain mentioned something that one who watches a lot of movies will know will come into play otherwise no mention would have been made of it at all. Entertaining, to a degree, good, not very.

A mostly toothless shark movie

[eddie_baggins · 4/10 · 28 May 2018]

If you're like me, you're a bit of a sucker for a good (or even bad) shark film.

Starting out early myself with a strong affinity for Jaws and continuing on with one of my all-time favourite guilty pleasure films Deep Blue Sea, there's both a joy and a relatable horror that can be found with a fin-filled shark thriller/horror, so I was quietly excited, if not all-together confident that 47 Meters Down could be the fresh shark fix that I needed.

Sadly 47 Meters Down isn't the fishy treat it could've been, it's certainly better than the truly dreadful shark hit from 2016 The Shallows but Johannes Roberts film is neither thrilling enough or engaging enough to hold our interest over a relatively brisk 80 or so minutes and when a film of this ilk holds some unfortunately incompetent sharks, who seem unable to catch their prey unawares, this supposed white knuckle affair ends up being rather blunt.

It's a high concept idea, sisters Lisa and Kate (played by Mandy Moore and Claire Holt) getting talked into a previously unplanned shark cage expedition aboard Matthew Modine's boat owner Captain Taylor's dodgy looking sea vessel, only to find themselves trapped on the ocean floor with an abundance of hungry sharks hiding in the blackness of the deep waters after their cage is severed and lost from its bearings.

The problem with such an idea as this is we really need to get on board and begin caring about what happens to our protagonists as they fight relatives of Jaws and battle to escape the depths before their oxygen supply runs out but we never get that with Lisa and Kate and actresses Moore and Holt just don't get enough to do to make them work.

The other problem with Roberts film is that the frights and scares begin to dry up relatively quickly after the initial thrill of the idea kicks off. At the start we feel the fear Lisa and Kate feel as they begin to understand just what has happened to them, it's also an idea that feels like it could happen but as things ramp up, 47 Meters Down gets sillier and sillier and therefore not as relatable, making it nothing more than a watchable diversion, but likely much better than the recently announced and greenlit sequel 48 Meters Down.

Final Say -

If you're desperate for a shark fix you could do worse than 47 Meters Down (hello Sharknado or The Shallows) but after an initial bout of thrills and chills, Roberts film begins to rapidly slowdown that leads to a relatively uninteresting and uninspired feature.

2 long-winded hallucinations out of 5

Excellent underwater great white shark survival tale

[amesmonde · 30 July 2016]

Two women become trapped in a cage 47 meters below the Mexican waters.

It's been a long time since there have been modest budget serious well produced shark films, then in 2016 two come along at once. Thankfully, In the Deep's set up is quite different to The Shallows, but it shares the same high production values and execution. Director Johannes Roberts offers a novel, tense, at times claustrophobic great white film that will leave you gasping for air.

Sisters, one in the mist of a breakup Kate (Claire Holt) and wilder worldly travelled Lisa (Mandy Moore) are restless in the safety of a hotel pool and room in Mexico. Coincidently, Roberts like in The Shallows adopts the film technique of texts, in this case Lisa's ex, popping up on screen, breaking the fourth wall. With Kate being upset the sisters go on a night out and meet two locals, who they later hook up with for a meal and kiss. The next day after a motorboat ride they all go on a $100 each cage dive on a rickety boat, the Sea Esta.

Matthew Modine is the captain of the unofficial excursion and his extended cameo, which is mostly a soothing voice on a radio advising the inexperienced divers on what and what not to do. Modine offers some weight and star power to the film as a everyday sailor Taylor. Like the aforementioned film, it's also different to Jaws, The Reef and the like and stands on its own.

Although, writers Ernest Riera and Roberts sacrifice developing Modine's functional character in place of getting the sharks on screen quicker, they put enough into brunette Moore's self-conscious Lisa and carefree blonde Holt's characters for you to invest their fate. They have an arc from the nightclub holidaymakers to strong women striving to survive.

When the sea-hand Javier (worthy of note Chris J. Johnson) starts chumming - a shark, approximately 25 foot shows up, bigger than those on the Discovery Channel or in the National Geographic. After the two locals try the first cage as the huge shark circles, the two nervous but excited sisters have their turn with their diving masks and tanks checked. Suffice to say, it all goes wrong when the rusty winch breaks and the the girls descend 47 meters. What follows is a survival test, trapped in the cage at first, then running out of air as they make attempts to move the winch, swim from the bottom ocean floor in the aggressive shark infested waters, to get more air in various ways etc. Only to be thwarted by the finely realised, terrify sharks.

With sharks attacking from nowhere there are some genuine jump scares which are heightened by the sound design and tomanddandy's music. Mark Silk's cinematography really shines, not just on the surface but below water. It's not just the confines of the cage that add chills, it's the vast ocean open space, the silence of being submerged and void beyond the sea cliff's edge. Notable there's a scene with their radio's out of range, Lisa tries to communicate with the surface leaving herself venerable in the endless salt water. Going beyond the sea floor cliffs edge later underwater Kate swims, stopping on top of a protruding rock deep below the blue sea. The unseen giants overshadow each move the women make with the threat of an attack at any moment. Every time the sisters leave the cage you feel the edgy chill of the imposing sharks.

Anyone scared of the water will no doubt get glass-boat diving chills out of In the Deep. And those who love shark films will not be disappointed with the whites on display as they attack, from below and on the sea floor with only cave recesses and the eroding cage to protect the sisters.

Roberts keeps the pressure on as things get worse when a diver is killed and the second attempt to save them goes awry. There's also a fearful doubt throughout that those topside have left them. We get plenty of blood-filled wince moments with the cage crushing Kate, spear gun cuts, shark bites and flares. As they fend off the predators when trying to get air tanks and get to the top it never slows in pace. In addition, Riera and Roberts add an interesting surprise Gravity, Descent-like twist in the tense final act.

Overall, a fine and welcomed addition to the killer Carcharodon carcharias genre.

At last! A shark movie without a "RoadRunner/Coyote"-ish end!

[agispir · 7/10 · 24 August 2016]

ITD is actually a very good surprise! It has nothing to do with the other shark movie SHALLOWS which actually has an end easily borrowed from the world of the cartoon "RoadRunner/Coyote". Here the things seem to be more real and more serious; there are a couple of plot questions/issues but they will not bother you. To my opinion, they are minor and can be without doubt excused for the shake of the whole plot. The movie is for people who like agony, suspense, tension and of course water and sharks. Except sharks, antagonist is also Time (equally important), and that combination makes a very stressful and explosive situation. I also think that you have the best/top reactions during your first watch since you do not know what will happen the next moment. Watching it for a second time will not be the same; most of the magic has gone. But after all, this applies to every thriller, and ITD is a damn good shark thriller... and it has also a damn good twist-plot at the end, unusual and unexpected for a shark movie.

So, I liked it.

[adh-08851 · 7/10 · 23 October 2022]

I didn't love it, but it was much better than I was expecting. As someone with a little claustrophobia and definitely a fear of "what lies beneath", I could feel the sisters' terror as they plummeted into the dark depths.

The CGI sharks were VERY well done, and acted more natural than in many other movies. They didn't have super high IQs, and weren't on a mission of vengeance on humans. They acted more like what they are - not diabolical but animals, perfectly designed predators who circled, left, came back - cautiously checking to see if there might be a meal in the offing.

They were much more realistic than the evil, maniacal sharks, i.e., in "The Shallows" who, for some unknown reason, is obsessively driven to kill one woman instead of feeding on the immense whale carcass right in the vicinity. I don't demand thrillers or actions movies to be perfectly logical or true-to-life, but that was utter, eye-rolling nonsense.

47 Meters Down is filmed quite beautifully and between the dark water, the realistic panic of the women, the fear of running out of oxygen, and the glimpses of sharks kept my attention throughout.

Down Down, Deeper and Down.

[bob-the-movie-man · 5/10 · 2 August 2017]

It's summer again;  it's a shark movie.  Lisa and Kate are two sisters on holiday in Mexico with one grieving a lost relationship and the other looking for fun.  Against their better judgement they go shark cage diving 5 metres below a vessel that looks like it should have been in the salvage yard 20 years ago.  After a mechanical failure the cage plummets down to the sea bed..... (Go on, how deep? Have a guess.  Go on, go on, go on ...)

With sharks circling and air running low, will the girls survive their ordeal?  

Last year, one of the surprise movies of the year for me was "The Shallows", which I really enjoyed.  A tense, well made yarn held together by a solid performance by Blake Lively and with a genuine escalation of tension (albeit let down by a poor ending). 

"47 Metres Down" differs from that film in three major respects:  B- movie acting, from Mandy Moore and Claire Holt (with Holt being significantly better than Moore); a screenplay by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera that is both ponderous and unbelievable; and dialogue that is at times truly execrable.  

The film really takes its time to get to the 'sharp end' (as it were). Once there, the actions of the girls are so clinically stupid that they are deserving of Darwin Award nominations. Fortunately, the IQs of the sharks (well realised as CGI by Outpost VFX) are only marginally greater:  the sharks will appear and then go away for ten minutes at a time, just so that the implausible plot can progress unmolested.

These films always need an escalator for the tension:  in "The Shallows" it was the rising tide; in this film it is the air supply. This element works well and adds an additional element of claustrophobia to the film that is already at 11 on the scale (you surely don't need me to tell you that claustrophobics need to avoid this film!). 

Much of the dialogue is expository regarding what is going on in the darkness and is so repetitive ("We ARE going to get out of here Kate!") that it would make a good drinking game.  The worst dialogue award though goes to Matthew Modine ("Memphis Belle") who's repeated medical descriptions of "the bends" becomes mildly comical - I literally got a fit of the giggles at one point.

I'm not going to completely savage the film though, since there IS a nice twist to the ending, albeit one that's heavily signposted.  And instead of reaching constantly for the classic "Ben's head in the boat" jump scare, the film occasionally teases the audience with set- ups that ultimately just feature murky water and nothing more. 

My recommendation:  if you've not yet seen "The Shallows", check that out on DVD and give this one a miss.

(For the graphical version of this review please visit bob-the-movie- man.com. Thanks).

NOT a shark film

[chrissanne · 7/10 · 28 July 2022]

Another one of those fims that you get to watch too late after the release because of the low ratings. Mandy Moore is superb in this one. Good camera work and sound scoring. Above average thriller. Plot is fine though with some inconsistencies with reality of scuba diving. 7.5 for me 😄

Nearly Ridiculous...

[spelaeologus · 2/10 · 8 July 2017]

Two adrenaline bursts in this movie... one star for each. I secretly love MM, but when the writers, producers, and director take on a project like this (diving w/ sharks), they really need to AT LEAST have an inkling about how diving affects people and shark behavior... I was snickering throughout instead of gripping my arm-rests like I should have been:

#1 47 meters is the threshold of "maximum safe depth" for (deep) recreational divers and since not all divers have exact physiology and these characters were novices and freaking out, being at that threshold itself would have killed them quickly.

#2 Sharks in general are not attracted to iron-based "aka human" blood (they are attracted to copper-based blood "mainly fish") - they will attack regardless on occasion but not because they heard your heartbeat and thirsted for your blood even from 5 feet away.

(I'll limit this list to 3 items) #3 Sharks do not like the sound of bubbles in the water... in fact it scares them and is akin to the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard (for us) so 100% of them leave the area when they hear it. No, their hunger does not counteract their discomfort.

But I get it, you can't make a movie about terrifying sharks that behave in their natural, unobtrusive ways - the movie needed shock value. It's just that experienced divers like myself are lost on the ridiculousness of the action and those who don't dive now won't go near the water in fear of marine dangers that aren't real, at least as were portrayed by this film.

Still, it wasn't a complete waste of 89 minutes... MM is still gorgeous! And who's this Stuart guy anyway!?

Far better than the movie I expected to watch!!

[salvessa · 7/10 · 16 August 2016]

Firstly I haven't watched the Shallows yet, so can't compare the two, but as a stand alone movie, I enjoyed it and it had an awesome little twist at the end that I didn't see coming even though I watch easily 60+ movies a month, It's not the greatest of acting at the beginning, but it's all believable and they did a great job making this film, easily the best Shark movie I have seen in years and would be happy to recommend it to any one who enjoys a good shark movie, honestly first time since I watched Jaws that I was actually jumpy of getting back in the water, on a serious note though there are a lot of movies out there with much bigger budgets that don't deliver any where close to a movie this good, granted, no one will win any Oscars, but the acting is believable even if it's a little over the top at the start, the directing was spot on and considering they wear masks for large portions of the movie, I felt invested in the characters. more than I could say for many of this years block busters.

Unrealistic, boring and dumb.

[darkhorizon72 · 1/10 · 25 June 2017]

I have to say that IMDb has become more and more misleading with their ratings. Incredibly deep European movies getting low ratings while movies like this are ranking higher and higher every time. Reading all the reviews below, you get to understand why.

This movie is unrealistic and silly in many ways and this is no minor issue. I understand that cinema is a suspension of disbelief but this movie could have been much better if it had been more realistic. I won't get into details other than saying the behaviour of the characters (especially those lame cowards on deck) is unbelievable, the moments of terror boring and the decision made by everyone is dumb. The Coast Guard should have arrived immediately carrying proper gear like tiny explosives which are thrown around the girls (of course, knowing their location beforehand) in order to chase away the sharks.

The music is predictable. The action scenes are clichéd and not remarkable and worst of all, they are boring. That ripped off finale from "The Descent" and "Gravity" does not work because we have seen it before in much better films.

There are tragedy movies which are so real and in which the characters do everything their common sense dictates that the viewer cannot but suffer and empathize with their predicament. And the movie shines. No wonder such movies have become classics. This is not one of them. Boring and dumb. Stay away!

Blows The Shallows out of the water !

[hcjv6 · 8/10 · 4 August 2016]

When you consider the amount of crap shark films that keep popping up it's pretty wise to be cautious about watching any........this one however is more than worth a watch........and considering ide never even heard of it until I stumbled on it filled me with dread as I pressed the 'play' button. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised.....for me it knocked socks off that tripe The Shallows........there is plenty of shark action and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat with the sheer terror and suspension involved. I never go into story telling in my reviews as that's what trailers are for etc, but far as im concerned it's a solid and believable tale that in all fairness could have been done way before now with a bigger budget and better actors. If you can grit your teeth for the first 15 mins and ignore the ott and annoying acting of one of the girls then you should enjoy this film........don't want to spill anymore........enjoy......and I really don't care if you find this review useful.......just saying my piece ;)

The Tension is palpable!!

[zorba-36271 · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

I was gasping for air like I was down in the water. The sharks were secondary. I counted 5 times I would have given up. Suspend disbelief and enjoy this movie. The Ending? Horrible! Wonky and pieced together. Shorted the movie big time.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Movie

[brad-747 · 1/10 · 3 July 2017]

One of the first things taught in film school is if you can show the audience, don't tell them. That is why most voice overs are not necessary and exposition scenes bring most films to a screeching halt. 47 Meters Down commits the sin of not only showing us things, but having characters make sure we know what we are seeing by repeating what is being shown. Case in point: One character is swimming along the ocean floor and spots a spear gun. It is obviously a spear gun. Only an idiot would not know this is a spear gun. The character then feels the need to say, "There is a spear gun." This happens throughout the film. The air tank reads low, "I am almost out of air." A giant shark swims by, "Look there is a shark." When this film comes out on video, it would make a great drinking game. Whenever someone repeats what is shown on screen, take a shot. No one will be conscious by the end of the film. Skip this movie. It is awful.

If you have diving experience at all.. This is a complete mess.

[jenellenelson · 1 April 2021]

So many, what do you call it, why the hell would you do that, questions.. they've got no license, they said it's sketchy, they're throwing food for the sharks, they have no rescue response anywhere.. WTF would you go there. Peer pressure and insecurity yeah it's clear but this movie could not be anything short of a cliche nonsense after nonsense movie. I had scuba diving lessons. When you're scuba diving at anywhere near that depth you wear gloves. If she had gloves she wouldn't have made so much noise banging on the bar with a rock, which I mean still.. come on. There's sharks around you and your making as much noise as possible and wasting all your air doing so. Also as soon as that shark disappears you GO FOR THE CAGE! NOT HIDE AND WAIT!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ There are so many things wrong with this movie but Claire Holt was great, Mandy Moore, I've never been a fan of, and it could've been her overacting like usual. Or it could've been her playing it up to be like she was actually hallucinating that bad.. but it was just too much to watch. The second is way better! This whole movie is a fail. Intense but flip.